Kueng surprises with first downhill title
Print Edition
Swiss upstart Patrick Kueng dominated a shortened Wengen downhill yesterday to claim his first ever World Cup win in the sport’s blue-riband event.
Austrian Hannes Reichelt finished second at 0.06 behind with Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal, the World Cup downhill and overall leader, finishing 0.07 off Kueng’s winning time of 1:32.66.
The legendary Wengen downhill, at more than 4.4 kilometers long, is the longest on the circuit but a significant slice of race-day drama was removed when strong winds near the top of the course forced a rethink.
Organizers shortened the course to 2.68 kilometers in length and dropped the start from 2,315 meters in altitude to 1,900 -- although that did not stop much of the field hitting speeds in excess of 150kph on the fastest section of the Lauberhorn.
A number of big names failed to shine on a course which, in the past, has often rewarded the sport’s all-rounders.
Swiss veteran Didier Defago narrowly avoided crashing into the safety netting while former two-time Wengen winner Bode Miller of the US finished fifth after a huge mistake near the bottom.
Austrian Max Franz was fourth, 0.24 behind Kueng.
On Friday, Ted Ligety won his first super-combined victory on the World Cup in Wengen, Switzerland.
It’s a discipline he already owns an Olympic and world championship title in but had curiously never won on the season-long World Cup circuit.
The American trailed Alexis Pinturault of France after the morning slalom leg but surpassed last year’s Wengen super-combined winner in the decisive downhill run on the classic Lauberhorn slope.
“This is definitely a big victory for me,” said Ligety, whose previous 19 career World Cup wins all came in giant slalom. “It’s a nice little confidence boost and step in the right direction for getting ready for Sochi.”
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